starter mac.
I really want to switch to Mac, but every time I think about laying out ~$1500 for an entry level tower on a platforn that I have not used extencively when I could build a kick ass windows / linux rig for ~$800, my skin crawls. so here is my question:
Can I get into a Mac tower for ~$800, I would like at least 1 ghz proc and 256 megs of ram, the OS version means nothing to me, I can get the edu discount on the upgrade, so where would I look for a tower like this besides ebay as I have a few issues laying out $100+ on ebay. Any help is verry appreciated, and could lead to my getting into a mac very soon.
fyi, I will use it for:
java codeing, power point, word, heavy web surfing, very light photoshop (maybe), and in the next few semesters, c/c++/obj c (not to mention iLife
)
I will also be useing this to learn unix.
I know about the emac, but I LOATH AIOs.
Can I get into a Mac tower for ~$800, I would like at least 1 ghz proc and 256 megs of ram, the OS version means nothing to me, I can get the edu discount on the upgrade, so where would I look for a tower like this besides ebay as I have a few issues laying out $100+ on ebay. Any help is verry appreciated, and could lead to my getting into a mac very soon.
fyi, I will use it for:
java codeing, power point, word, heavy web surfing, very light photoshop (maybe), and in the next few semesters, c/c++/obj c (not to mention iLife
) I will also be useing this to learn unix.
I know about the emac, but I LOATH AIOs.
Comments
Though it looks like they don't have any G4 towers at this time. I think there's another outfit that sells used/refurbed. Macs that advertises in the Mac magazines. Also just try going down to your local Apple store and ask if they have any in the back they want to close out.
If I were you I would just bite the bullet and get a new iMac. If you think of it as an appliance it works pretty well.
Originally posted by nguyenhm16
If I were you I would just bite the bullet and get a new iMac. If you think of it as an appliance it works pretty well.
Maybe you are right, an iMac g5 would be faster than a g4 tower, and I could then start saveing again and in ~2 - 3 years treat myself to a big rig. My only concern is that if the monitor goes, I am hosed, at least the pwr book allows for a reasonable external display hookup.
(edit)
Just did some looking and the pmg5 1.8 sp with edu discount is 50$ cheaper than the imac 1.8, and I would much prefer a tower, I just wanted a more economical alternative than $1349, it jusat seems like I am way over paying, please understand that as a pc user, I see 1.8 ghz, 256 megs ram workstation and think "oh, that must be 2001 overstock." I know about the mhz myth yada yada but the numbers speak volumes.
Originally posted by a_greer
Maybe you are right, an iMac g5 would be faster than a g4 tower, and I could then start saveing again and in ~2 - 3 years treat myself to a big rig. My only concern is that if the monitor goes, I am hosed, at least the pwr book allows for a reasonable external display hookup.
(edit)
Just did some looking and the pmg5 1.8 sp with edu discount is 50$ cheaper than the imac 1.8, and I would much prefer a tower, I just wanted a more economical alternative than $1349, it jusat seems like I am way over paying, please understand that as a pc user, I see 1.8 ghz, 256 megs ram workstation and think "oh, that must be 2001 overstock." I know about the mhz myth yada yada but the numbers speak volumes.
Get the Applecare extended warranty. It's worth it to get the service plan whenever you buy any name brand computer (e.g. Dell, IBM) since you just can't go to Fry's and buy the non-generic parts. Plus you have a year to do it (any time before the warranty expires).
Also, a socket 939 A64 3000+ w/ dual channel memory only runs at 1.8 GHz for a rough approximation. Spend the $60 to get the Radeon 9600 also. But yeah, the 256MB sucks.
Originally posted by a_greer
256 megs of ram
sorry man, you gotta get at least 512
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
I don't see how an eMac won't fit the bill?
The emac will NOT fit my bill!
1: It is an AIO
2: one reason that I wanted a tower is so I could put it on a kvm with my current pc in lue of virtual PC.
3: Like it or not, the CRT on the emac is included, NOT FREE, and I already have a perfectly fine high quality flat crt, so why would I want another if it cannot do spanning?
http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/supportlist_e.html
*cough*
Scroll to the bottom. There is an eMac spanning hack, but I've never tried it and I'm not recommending you do either.
Originally posted by tonton
Once again, my post was ignored.
I repeat.
Put it under the desk, and pretend it's NOT an AIO.
1. You can use it with your KVM.
2. You can use it with your groovy external monitor.
3. What's the problem? Is it psychological?
If I am going to lay out the money for a computer, I want a swappable graphics card and an easily changeable cd/dvd/media drive so I can keep up with the times, I simply find it counter productive and waistfull to have to scrap a whole system ~6-8 months down the road because I need/want better graphics or a faster hdd or a new optical drive.
I am a pc guy, upgradeability is vital to me.
Not phycological, economical.
Where would one find quality used mac towers at decent prices?
Originally posted by a_greer
If I am going to lay out the money for a computer, I want a swappable graphics card and an easily changeable cd/dvd/media drive so I can keep up with the times, I simply find it counter productive and waistfull to have to scrap a whole system ~6-8 months down the road because I need/want better graphics or a faster hdd or a new optical drive.
I am a pc guy, upgradeability is vital to me.
Not phycological, economical.
Where would one find quality used mac towers at decent prices?
eBay, or forums i.e. MacNN or ArsTechnica. I don't know that you'll find much in a Mac tower at the price point/speed, primarily because most G4 towers were dual processors at 1 GHz+. The only thing that comes to mind is a single 1.25 G4, but I don't know where you'd get one that isn't on eBay.
Macs have high resale value in general, particularly towers. Video cards for the Mac are pretty expensive, my guess is that you'd have a higher likelihood of making out better if you buy an eMac/iMac/iBook now and sell/buy new version later on rather than attempt upgrading.
You're just sinking money if you buy a used tower ~$1000, than upgrade to Panther ($69), upgrade video card ($$$), etc. You'll end up at the same point as an iMac, which is faster/bigger HD/included screen/etc.
Edit: Looking at DealMac, I've seen a couple times where MegaMacs has had things like used Dual 800 G4's for $1100. Possibly the closest thing to what you're looking for, you'd have to wait for them to have another one though.
Originally posted by a_greer
I really want to switch to Mac, but every time I think about laying out ~$1500 for an entry level tower on a platforn that I have not used extencively when I could build a kick ass windows / linux rig for ~$800, my skin crawls. so here is my question:
Can I get into a Mac tower for ~$800, I would like at least 1 ghz proc and 256 megs of ram, the OS version means nothing to me, I can get the edu discount on the upgrade, so where would I look for a tower like this besides ebay as I have a few issues laying out $100+ on ebay. Any help is verry appreciated, and could lead to my getting into a mac very soon.
fyi, I will use it for:
java codeing, power point, word, heavy web surfing, very light photoshop (maybe), and in the next few semesters, c/c++/obj c (not to mention iLife
I will also be useing this to learn unix.
I know about the emac, but I LOATH AIOs.
I don't think you can get a decent Mac tower at that price range. What you might want to consider would be an iBook. It is in your price range, has a 1.2GHz G4, and unlike an eMac it is portable.
If you really want a tower instead of a laptop, I think you will have to spend something closer to $1250 to get one worth having.
http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=229965
You could try and see how much the Tower by itself would cost.